Germany triumph over Italy in epic penalty shootout

By on July 3, 2016

“Football is a simple game – you play for 120 minutes and then the Germans win on penalties,” television pundit and former England striker Gary Lineker once famously quipped.

This time, it wasn’t nearly so simple for Germany.

Die Mannschaft once again triumphed on penalties in an extraordinary Euro 2016 quarterfinal meeting with Italy, but their path to victory was not the least bit straightforward. After one-hundred-and-twenty minutes of exhausting football failed to produce a winner between the two sides with the score tied at 1-1, Germany triumphed in the most dramatic of shootouts that will go down in Euro folklore.

Germany have long been renowned for being the best nation in the world from the spot, maintaining a cool, collected mindset (Italy too have a stellar record), but both sides were overwhelmed by the nerves on such a tense occasion. It took nine wild rounds of penalties to separate the sides in sudden death, and of the eighteen penalties, four completely missed the target and another three were saved.

For Germany’s part, they missed three times, more than in all of their previous major tournament shootouts combined, spanning six shootouts in forty years. This was by far their worst shootout of all time.

So, of course, only they could still have managed to pull off the win.

In the very end Joachim Löw’s men had the edge to advance to the semifinals, yet there plenty of were moments when they gave themselves breathtaking scares. After experienced internationals Thomas Müller, Mesut Özil, and Bastian Schweinsteiger all fluffed their lines from the spot, it took three clutch penalties in harrowing rounds of sudden death before Manuel Neuer finally saved from Matteo Darmian and Jonas Hector put Germany over the line.

It was their first-ever victory over Italy in tournament competition at nine times of trying and the Azzurri certainly didn’t forfeit their perfect record without a fight.

The ninety minutes of regulation football were much less exhilarating than the following penalty shootout as the two sides were deadlocked in battle. In that regard, the game had the distinct feeling of a major tournament final, and indeed, Germany will now go on to be favorites to win it all in France after overcoming their biggest test to date.

Germany controlled the game for the most part but Italy broke in behind on the counter-attack on multiple occasions. On the brink of halftime, Emanuele Gianccherini tore away down the left and cut the ball across the box to Stefano Sturaro, whose low drive was deflected inches wide of the post by Jerome Boateng.

Müller came close in the fifty-eighth minute for Germany, his curling effort cleared spectacularly off the line by Alessandro Florenzi, but Özil broke the deadlock on the other side of the hour mark by converting Hector’s deflected cut-back.

Just three minutes later, Mario Gomez nearly gave Germany a virtually unassailable 2-0 lead after breaking in behind Italy’s defense from Özil’s lovely clipped pass. With his back to goal, he back-heel volleyed the ball towards the top corner of the net but Buffon came up with one of the saves of the tournament tip it over the crossbar.

Italy then came roaring back into the game after Boateng was whistled for a handball in the box and Leonardo Bonucci coolly converted the resulting penalty. If only he could have repeated the feat in the ensuing shootout.

The shootout got off to a fairly normal start with Toni Kroos and Lorenzo Insigne both converting but the proceedings took a wild turn when Simone Zaza, substituted on specifically for the shootout, took a wacky, stuttering run-up and then blazed high over the crossbar with Italy’s second attempt.

Müller tried to outsmart Buffon to give Germany the lead but could only succeed in sending a weak, low effort right at the goalkeeper. Instead, Germany’s fortunes swung the other way as Andrea Barzagli put Italy up 2-1 and Özil’s penalty then hit the post.

Amazingly, though, the pendulum swung back again as Graziano Pellè also dragged a truly woeful penalty wide for Italy and Julian Drawler made things all square. Neuer then denied Bonucci from Italy’s fifth penalty and Schweinsteiger, Germany’s old hand, had a chance to win it for the three-time champions of the tournament.

He blazed it well over the crossbar.

Perhaps no man suffered more from the emotionally wrenching shootout than Benedikt Höewedes, who was tenth in Germany’s shootout lineup. The Schalke 04 defender surely never imagined he would have to step up to the spot. Yet as things remained all tied up in the next three rounds of sudden death to incredulous disbelief from the crowd, an impending sense of doom must have been overwhelming Höewedes.

Yet Hector slipped a low shot just under the arms of Buffon to clinch it for Germany after Matteo Darmian saw his low effort saved by Neuer. Germany sprinted off to the corner as if they had won the tournament.

Perhaps, indeed, the game came two rounds too early because surely no other Euro 2016 game will top this for late drama. In terms of spectacle, it was an emotional thrill-ride and the class of the football on show was also of the highest echelon. That is, but for the penalty shoot-out.

Homepage photo credit: Steindy [CC BY-SA 3.0], via Wikimedia Commons

About Alex Morgan

Alex Morgan, founder of Football Every Day, lives and breaths football from the West Coast of the United States in California. Aside from founding Football Every Day in January of 2013, Alex has also launched his own journalism career and hopes to help others do the same with FBED. He covers the San Jose Earthquakes as a beat reporter for QuakesTalk.com and his work has also been featured in the BBC's Match of the Day Magazine.